A recent incident in Baguio City has raised the topic of child safety in vehicles - particularly the Child Seat Law which is still postponed following controversies.
Last Friday (November 5), a dashcam caught an incident where a 1-year-old fell out of a taxi while traveling on Baguio’s zigzag road.
Fortunately, the child was safe and in good health.
However, the incident raised the topic of child safety in vehicles - particularly Republic Act 11229 (Child Seat Law) which is still postponed following controversies.
If implemented, children under the age of 12 must be secured using accredited child seats in the second row. One exemption is if the child is over 150 cm or 4’11”, they can simply use seatbelts.
A motorist who fails to meet the requirement could face a P1,000 to P5,000 fine and suspension of the motorist's driver’s license, whether it was a public or private vehicle.
While the Philippine National Police- Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) brought up RA 11229, there is no announcement from the Land Transportation Office if it’s being implemented again.
Instead, the Department of Transportation posted a reminder on its Facebook page regarding the Seat Belts Use Act of 1999 or RA 8750 which mandates the use of seatbelts for both front and back seat passengers.
In the Baguio incident, the mother was with the child in the back passenger seat when the child was able to open the door.
“Bago tayo mag-transport ng mga ganyan bata tignan muna natin kung talagang nakasarado yung pinto baka naka slightly open ‘yan at kailangan sumunod tayo sa batas,” P/LTC Christian Dela Cruz, spokesperson of PNP-HPG, said.
Dela Cruz also told drivers and parents to make use of the child lock feature of vehicles for added safety.
The Child Seat Law was signed in February 2019 with full implementation starting 2021 but was deferred due to several reasons, including the current economic situation due to the pandemic and the special training needed for enforcers.
Tags: #DepartmentOfTransportation, #LandTransportationOffice, #roadsafety, #seatbelts, #ChildSeatLaw